Nvidia's chief executive, Jensen Huang, confesses that he dedicates all seven days of the week to his work, even during holidays, existing in a perpetual 'state of anxiety' driven by the dread of financial ruin.

“You know the phrase ’30 days from going out of business,’ I’ve used for 33 years,” Huang said on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. “But the feeling doesn’t change. The sense of vulnerability, the sense of uncertainty, the sense of insecurity—it doesn’t leave you.”

Nvidia has has established itself as a prominent frontrunner in the AI competition. What began as a graphics card producer grew has transformed into a technological giant, developing the processors, infrastructure, and programs that drive the majority of substantial AI frameworks within global cloud data facilities. In the preceding month, Nvidia achieved the distinction of being the initial publicly traded corporation to attain a market capitalization of $5 trillion. Despite this success, Huang maintains a persistent apprehension that the enterprise might cease to exist abruptly.

“It is exhausting,” he said, while adding that he’s “always in a state of anxiety.”

The seasoned chief executive disclosed that he continues to labor seven days weekly, dedicating every conscious hour to prevent his worst fears from materializing, which involves reviewing his electronic correspondence starting at 4 a.m.: “Every day. Every single day. Not one day missed. Including Thanksgiving, Christmas.” 

Huang's primary drive stems from his apprehension of not succeeding.

Huang recalled a situation of a close failure in the mid-1990s, at which point the firm discovered its initial graphics innovation was defective precisely as it was creating a processor for Sega's subsequent game system. 

As funds dwindled, he journeyed to Japan to inform Sega's chief executive that the item was unviable and the agreement should be terminated; however, he also confessed that Nvidia required the last $5 million installment to continue operations. Sega transformed the remaining capital into a stake, giving the struggling startup the lifeline it needed to stay alive.

“Suffering is part of the journey. You will appreciate it for these horrible feelings that you have when things are not going so well. You will appreciate it so much more when they do go well,” he added. 

Huang had previously extended his best wishes to Stanford students “ample doses of pain and suffering”. He believes that facing challenges is fundamental for developing fortitude, managing expectations, and ultimately achieving triumph. 

Even now, the fear of failure is still Huang’s greatest motivator.

“I have a greater drive from not wanting to fail than the drive of wanting to succeed,” he said on the podcast. “Failure drives me more than greed or whatever it is.”

His two children are employed daily as well. 

Huang isn't the sole individual in his lineage to be born with the “work gene”. His two children also dedicate their efforts daily. Madison and Spencer, both in their thirties, started the company as interns in the years 2020 and 2022, respectively. 

“My kids work every day. Both of my kids work at Nvidia. They work every day,” Huang said. 

Previously, neither expressed significant enthusiasm for employment with the firm post-secondary education. Madison enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America, and her sibling Spencer pursued marketing studies in Chicago before relocating to Taiwan for Mandarin instruction; concurrently, he established a cocktail lounge in Taipei. 

“Now we have three people working every day and they want to work with me every day and so it’s a lot of work,” Huang said.